Friction eire escape



ck. 16 1923; 1,470,746 s. JOHNSON FRICTION FIRE ESCAPE Filed Dec. 6; 1922 gwvemkoz 5W5]? Jam-25017 of the lower on RICHWOOD, W sT-viRsmIA, AssIGNoR or ONE-HALF To JULIA ERnANnsoN,ornrcnwoon,"wnsr VIRGINIA.

FRICTION FIRE ESCAPE.

Application filed December 6; 192a; s p n 605,191, i t

' To all 41) 7mm it may concern} 'Be it known that LKSSVAN- Jonnsom a citizen of Sweden, residing atRichxvood, in

the. county of Nicholas andfStatebfWest ful Improvements in Eriction Fire Escapes;

' drumvof the fire-escapetmay be -readily and" ot which the following is a specification reference being had to, the accompanying} drawings. Thls nvention prevent its paying outtoo quickly,

The general object of this invention( is to provide a firerescape of thisgeneral character so constructedthat it may be utilized by-oneperson togradually lower another person or: which; will permit one person to k p I a p y p 1 f v g o 'rately'andj attached thereto-'and the drum is to provide a: device; of; this. character with very simple} meanslower himself i A; further object.

whereby the-passage of the rope around the powerfully .controllecl still further object is to provide a fire escape of this character including a. drum around which a cable is Wound; theiclrum: being so constructed that the cablemaypassg around the drum any number=of times desired, and further to provide means whereby all of these windings of the cable may be engaged by theretardingdevice.

Another Object is to provide'means \vhereby the supporting hanger? may be disposed in practically'the same plane asqone of the ends of the. cable so that thereuwill be no tendency of the drum and its correspondingparts to tip under strain. .1 7

Other objects Will appear in the course ofthe vfollowing description. 7 p My invention is illustrated in theaccom"; panying drawings, wherein o Figure 1 is a side elevation. of my im' proved fire escape applied to-permitoneper son lowering a second person; a Figure Q, isa like View to Figure 1 but illustrating the manner: in which the. fire" escape is applied to permit a person to lower himself;

' Figure 7 31 is; a vertical sectional view through the drumwhen the latterois. used -I1 11jCl8I l3l1e circumstances illustrated in Fig .ure 2 Figure,

i ut,

relates'to fire escapes, particularly to. that class-of fire escapes; wherein a rope is frictionally en'gage'dito;

l is a section on the line Hot ri 'ui 5 is'atop plan viewfofthe s illustratedilin Figure 3;

F'gure 61 is"v agi fragmentaryi sectional view Referring particularly to Figures to 5,"

1O "designates 1a dr um This ,clrumgis not .-rotatable.but is. relatively'fiired; The drum is formed. to providetwoflanges-11, and

passing thr'Qughthe-druni andj'o'pe'ning upon the periphery thereof are tubular rope 1 ducts '12 andf13} It' Will'fb'e seen that bothof these ducts extendfout'ibeyondthe face of.

0' i o thiejdrum. {The fiangeslofthe drum may be I V castjor otherwfise formed in] one piece with the; peripheryfof. the drum or formed sepaf is formed two, points- With inivardly proieq n e esz nd fi 'j o of th drum be solid except for the ducts 12 drum." Theseftubulafmembers at their in haveillustratedthese. ducts 12: o I i v V and.'13-,',hoiv ever,j as formedof tubular mm:

bers inserted. throughfthe periphery of l the o i ner ends. are formed Withjlears 16,1'and 'exn tending t ransv ersel y', through; the inwardly projecti ng fianges andlth'rough-theears .15 5

is. a: transverse 17} Mountecl'lo'os'ely Wheels -18 The periphfery of the drum is uponthis pin are the'two pulley's orgrooved" formed; vvitlr openings 197mm which these} Wheels 18 project, as illustratedmostclearly in Figure 4; It; will be seen that the duct 12: opensadjacent one of, thefwheelsls and the tluct'lg opens adjacent the other, wheel; 18 a-ndth'atthese ducts; are located adjacent oppositeends offthe drum} V Swingingly connectedto the transverse pin or1 -rod1 7 are depending ears 20 connectediby a-transverse-pin 21',- and swing.- itnglyv mountedupon this pin21 is ayoke 22, the end of-jth6 yokeibeing held: in spaced relation by a sleeve 23, Swivelecl in the lower end of theyokefis a shackle 24 and] V svvingingly engaged,\viththisishackle is a. 3 hook-25 having: akeeper 26. This hook'25 Tlie cablefoiirope is -pa ssedlthrough"one u Qfgthe ducts.as, for instance;throughjthe" I H a A v Y isadapted, to be-enga-ged Witha, supporting I ward, as shown in Figure 1.

around the drum, thenispassed through the other duct 13. When the drum is supported from the bracket- A by means of the hook 25, both ends of the cable will extend downever, the tire escape is supported as in Figure 2, one end of the cable 27, which end is provided with a hook 28, will be engaged with the support A, while'the otheriend of the cable beyond the fire escape will extend downward. While there will'besome fri'c: tional engagementybetween the cable and the peripheral surface ofthe drum .10, this extended at3l and-radially slotted at 32 for.

i frictional engagement will-not be sufficient to prevent a rapid de'scentof any one descendingon thefire escape, and in order tov provide for a variable frictional-engagement of the cable I attach to the druinatl one point the U-shaped yoke 29 which: is,

held in place byfatransverse rivet 30, as shown in Figure 4. j a

The flanges llof the'drum are outwardly the reception ofthe gudgeons 33 of a roller 34. The yoke 29 covers the slots 32 so that the roller. 34 cannot get out of place. The

I yoke 29 is longitudinally slotted in its outer facealt35, and extending outwardvfrom this slotisa'flange 36. Pivoted' on thisfiange are crossed arms 37 having cam faces 38 which bear against the roller 34. a The intersecting arms or shanks 37 are provided with handles 40 so formed that they may be read- I ily grasped so as to draw the handles toward each otherfandthus force the cams 38 against the roller: 34, forcing'this roller inward against the convolutions of the cable 27.

wrapped upon the drum. Preferably the outer convolutions of the cable are held or;

guided inplace by inwardly extending lugs 4 1 which are bent inward from the flanges of the drum and then extend downward so as toarch over the two outer eonvolutions'o'f thecable.

The operation of this device is as'followsz Where it is necessary that one person should lower another, the person to be lowered is encircled bya belt or like device andthis is hooked into the hook 28. The person controlling the fire escape then grasps the handles 40 and closes them to any degree required and thus applies friction to the rope and this will permit the cable to gradually descend. As a very great pressure may. be applied to the cable and as this cable may be wrapped any desired number of times 7 around the drum. it is obvious that the compression of thehandles 40 will completely ,control the drum. If, howeventhere is one 6e person to escape from the burning building then it is only necessary to engage the hook 281with the bracket A, to pass a rope or belt around the waist, and engage it with the hook 25. Then the person" can clasp the" handles 40 andby exerting more'or less pres may be readily controlled.

sure upon the handles 40 can'permit'him self to descend at any desired speed to the ground. Because of the very great pressure exertedupon the convolutions of the rope When, howi or cable; very great frictional engagement may be had with this rope or cable so that the paying out of the rope under any weight ll l'iere the device is used as in Figure 2,

:it is desirable that the weight suspended from the hook 25 shall come as nearly as possible directly in line with the upper portion of; the cable 27 and it is, therefore, de- 'sirable that the pivoted yoke 22shall be shifted tothat side of the drum adjacent the "duct 13, and where the device is to be utilized. as shownin Figure 1, it is desirable,

on the other hand, that the yoke 22 shall be shifted as nearly as possible into alignment with the duct 12. This is accomplished by forming this yoke 22 narrowerthan the lengthofthe pin 21 so that it may slide on ths pin and it is desirable, of course, to pro vide means whereby this yoke maybe locked in its shifted position. To this end one end oft-he yoke 22 projects normally beyond the" margin of fiance l1 and is normally engaged between this flange 11 and thelink 20. hen it is desiredto shift the yoke, the yoke is turned so as to bring its arms into tangential relation to the flange 11 then the yoke is shifted tothe opposite end ot the pin 21,

and again turned into radial position. which will bring one of the arms of the yoke outside of the flange 11. This locks the yoke in either of its two positions so thatthereafte-r iuthe use of the device the yoke will remain adjacent to and nearly in alignment with that end "of the cable or ropelwhich is supporting theweight. I a

t will be seen that this device is very sim- 1 pie, may be cheaply made, and is thoroughly effective inpractice. I do'not wish to be limitedto the details of construct on, asthese.

may be varied in many ways'without departing from the spirit of the "invention as de-' lined in the appended claims I claim 1. In a fire escape, a drum having end flanges and formed to provide ducts GXtBIlCl-i ins; inward trom opposite surfaces of the drum, pulleys disposed at the inner ends, of V ing inward from opposite surfaces of the drum, a cable pass ng around the drum and, passing through'said ducts, a'shaekle op? eratively connected to the drum, and manufor ifrictionally engaging the cableiivith the drumcomprisinga roller ekteiidingxparallel Ito the fsurfaceof thedi'um and mounted for moyeinent-itoward, the surfaice"of the; drll h', and'afmanually; operable cainengaged with; saida'ollergcr 1 735111 fire escape; a di um ihaving end fianges aud formed to provide ducts extends innin'ward from opposite "surfaces were; 'd-iinn, a cablepassingaaround the drum and passing'through said a shackle 'bperativfely connected to the drum,]means forifriction'a-lly engaging-the cable "With' the drum comprisinga roller extending parallelfto the surface oflthe drumand mounted forfmoveg ment toward the s-iirface of the drum, "and a. pair of cams engaging said roller, said cams having shanks crossing eachother, the

shanks shaving handles whereby the cams may beforced to engage, the roller nd force the roller against the cable. a 5

' 4. In ,a fireescapeQa drum having flanges at its opposite ends a yoke pivotally en-. gaging said flanges and carrying a supporting hook, the drum being formed-With cable ducts each extending at? one" end" through the periphery of the drum and each 'duetopening at itsnotherf endlwithingthe drum and in spaced relatio'nfto the mentioned yoke and movable toward; or

froin'the face 'of-the drum, and manually" operable' means mounted upon the last-1 mentioned yoke for urging said roller toward the face of the drum and against the convolutions of the cable. I r

5. A fire escape comprising a drum.

formed with flanges, grooved rollers-mount ed upon. the inner face of the drum and adjacent each end thereof. the pe-' ripheryof the drum having openings into which said rollers, project "and the drain I being formedtoprovide ducts openingadjacent said rollers at one end and extending through the face of the drum at the other and projecting slightly beyond the face of; thedrum, a cable passing through said ducts and extending around the drum'a number of times and bearing: upon said 7 grooved rollers yone end ofthe cable being provided with an attaching device, a yoke mounted upon the drum. a roller mounted in said yoke and extending parallel to the outer face of the drum manually operable means forforcmgsaid roller toward the Wrapped-thereon, links'piyoted tothe drum,

a pin connectintr the ou'ten ends of said 'of-;thefdrunn theflin'ks 7 I 7 o I ga'cent saidrollers, and a'-y,0ke' mounted 7 to thereby hold the face of thedrum and against the cable;-

beinyldisposed ad- Y upo said pin" and; having fa hoo k; j a 1 with fianges, grooved roilersj mo'unted upon d V l A fire escape comprising adrum formed i sfa fe: e1: the drum; and adj scent, rjthereof; the peripheryjof thedrun openings into Wh chsaul; rollersf is i tli'e druni at the fotherf and j projecting tending around the drum; a number of times and bearing-P1 1901 said-"grooved "rollersy-one Y 7' drum a roller mounted in said yoke and extending parallel to the outer face of the sli'izhtiybeyondlthe 'face rjfKthe drum -;ja 7 cable ,passingljithrough"saidf ductsaand exdrum manually operablemeans'for forcing sa d roller toward the face of the drum and agalnst' the cable wrapped thereon, I

being; disposed adjacent said rollers, a

lin is pivoted to-the drum,;a pin connecting; 1 r the outer ends :of-said. links an'dvextendin'g parallelto the face of the drumfithe links,

yoke mounted upon said pin and "having a hook xsaid last-mentioned yoke being shiftahle upon the pin from one end ofthfe periphery thereof the cable extending around the drumfia number of times and having its ends passed through said ducts,:; and means for frictionally engaging the: cable comprising a yoke'mou'nted upon the drum, a roller mounted in said "lasta drum.:.to the other and'having means Whereby it maybe locked in shifted 'position.

7.;A; fire; escape comprising I a Y drum formed with flanges, grooved, rollers amount ed uponfthe inner face of" thegdrum V and adjacent eachend thereof, the .peripheryof the drum having openingsinto which saidlrollers' project an'd the drum' being" formed toprovi-de ducts openings ad-- jacent said rollers at one end-and extendingv through the face of the drum at the other and projecting slightly beyond the face of the face ofthedrumaj the links being disj posed adjacent said rollers, and a yoke mounted unon said pin and having a'hook, i i v 20 7 said yoke being shiftable-upon the pin from one end of the drum to the other, the yoke the drum' a cablepassing through said Y "ducts andextendingaround the drum a number of tirnes and bearin upon said' ends of saidilinks and extending parallel to being formed to provide two arms, each arm J being engageableover' the correspbnding' flange of the drum when the yoke is in a radial position with relation to the drum got the drum.

flanges. a cable passing around the drum,

yoke adjacent that end j 8. In a fire escape, a 'drumha-vingend isupportin'g means operatively connected to 9 other, a'cable passing around the drum and thed rum, means for frictionally engaging the 'cable with the drum comprising a roller extending parallel to 'the surface of the drum and'mounted for. movement "toward lvhe surface '01" ""the drumyand a pail of cams engaging said roller, said cams havlng J shanks crossing each other, 'the shaioksihavroller against the cable.

- 9. In a. fire escape, a

poiiils on the periphery of the drum; said ducts being laterally spaced "from each passing through said ducts, manually oper- V I V 'Cllllfll' having end "fiangcs'ancljormed, to provide two parallel he shackle in thisf position from' lateral ducts extending inward 'fromf adjacent movement.

signature.

able man$-for fricbionally' engaging" the cable wlththe drum; ears extending down- Ward from'thedrumi a supporting rod extending-parallelto the aX-is of the drum, a

ends of the ducts; the shackle bein movable tran'sverselyfof-t-he drum on: said rod into aposition approximately in linewitheither one of said ducts, [and means for locking Intestimony whereof I hereunto 'afilx my SWAN JOHNSlUN.. 

